Fuel and lubricant compositions for vehicles are continually being improved to enhance various properties of the fuels and lubricants in order to accommodate their use in newer, more advanced engines, such as direct injection gasoline engines. Accordingly, fuel and lubricants compositions typically include additives that are directed to certain properties that require improvement. For example, friction modifiers (FM), such as fatty acid amides, are added to fuel to reduce friction and wear in the fuel delivery systems of an engine. When such additives are added to the fuel rather than the lubricant, a portion of the additives are transferred into the lubricant in the engine piston ring zone where it may reduce friction and wear and thus improve fuel economy. While such additives may be beneficially added to the lubricant rather than the fuel, such additive are not effective for improving lubricity and reducing wear in fuel delivery systems when added to the lubricant. Such fuel additives may be passed into the oil sump during engine operation, so that a fuel additive that is also beneficial to the engine lubricant is desirable. Accordingly, it is advantageous to include additives in fuels to provide both improved fuel delivery system wear protection as well as improved fuel economy.
Partial esters of fatty acid and polyhydroxy alcohols such as glycerol monooleate (GMO) are known as friction modifiers for fuel and lubricant compositions. Likewise, fatty acid derived amides are also well known friction modifiers. While GMO and some fatty amide friction modifiers may improve fuel economy when added to a fuel or lubricant, the fuel economy improvement may be less than desirable or those friction modifiers may cause an increase in intake valve deposits in gasoline engines. Accordingly, GMO and fatty amide friction modifiers cannot be beneficially added to a fuel composition to reduce the friction and improve the wear protection of the fuel delivery system without the risk of harmful and undesirable side effects.
Fatty amine diethoxylates and alkylaminodiols are also known as fuel and lubricant FMs that may reduce fuel consumption. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,883 discloses alkoxylated alkylamines that are useful for reducing friction in an engine lubricant. U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,037 discloses long chain alkylaminodiols that are useful for reducing friction for fuels or lubricants. U.S. Pat. No. 7,618,929 discloses long chain alkylaminodiols that are useful in reducing friction in transmission fluids. The aforementioned additives are tertiary amines that have either one or two hydrophobic long chain alkyl groups attached to nitrogen that give the friction modifier solubility in hydrocarbon fuels and oils. The aforementioned additives also have hydrophilic hydroxyamine groups, with either a vicinal diol or a bis-2-hydroxyethyl group that allows the friction modifiers to attach to metal surfaces. While these types of additives can reduce friction and wear there is still a need for friction modifiers with improved wear protection and greater friction reductions. Surprisingly, it has been found that certain dialkyaminoalkanols can reduce friction and wear more effectively than the previously known fatty amine diethoxylates and alkylaminodiols.
In accordance with the disclosure, exemplary embodiments provide a fuel composition, a lubricant composition, and methods for reducing friction or wear of moving parts. In some embodiments, the moving parts include, but are not limited to, moving parts of an engine, gear, compressor, turbine, transmission, tractor, hydraulic system, brake system, drive train, and the like.
In one embodiment, the fuel composition includes gasoline and from about 10 to about 750 ppm by weight based on a total weight of the fuel composition of a dialkylaminoalkanol of the formulaR1(R2)NCH2CH(R3)R4 wherein R1 is an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group containing from 8 to 50 carbon atoms; R2 is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R3 is selected from H and OH; and R4 is selected from H, an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and CH2OH, provided that at least one of R3 and R4 contains a hydroxyl group and provided that when R1 is a hydroxyalkyl group, R3 is OH and R4 is CH2OH.
In another embodiment of the disclosure, there is provided a fuel composition for reducing friction or wear and improving engine fuel economy. The fuel composition includes gasoline and from about 10 to about 750 ppm by weight based on a total weight of the fuel composition of a dialkylaminoalkanol of the formulaR1(R2)NCH2CH(OH)R4 wherein R1 is an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group containing from 8 to 50 carbon atoms; R2 is an alkyl group contacting from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; and R4 is CH2OH.
In a further embodiment, there is provided a method for reducing friction or wear in an engine. The method includes fueling the engine with a fuel composition that includes gasoline and from about 10 to about 500 ppm by weight based on a total weight of the fuel composition of a dialkylaminoalkanol of the formulaR1(R2)NCH2CH(R3)R4 wherein R1 is an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group containing from 8 to 50 carbon atoms; R2 is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R3 is selected from H and OH; and R4 is selected from H, an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and CH2OH, provided that at least one of R3 and R4 contains a hydroxyl group and provided that when R1 is a hydroxyalkyl group, R3 is OH and R4 is CH2OH.
Another embodiment of the disclosure provides a lubricant composition for reducing friction or wear. The lubricant composition includes a base oil of lubricating viscosity and from about 0.05 to about 5.0 weight percent based on a total weight of the lubricant composition of a dialkylaminoalkanol of the formulaR1(R2)NCH2CH(R3)R4 wherein R1 is an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group containing from 8 to 50 carbon atoms; R2 is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R3 is selected from the group consisting of H and OH; and R4 is selected from the group consisting of H, an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and CH2OH, provided that at least one of R3 and R4 contains a hydroxyl group and provided that when R1 is a hydroxyalkyl group, R3 is OH and R4 is CH2OH.
A further embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for reducing wear in moving parts of an engine, transmission, turbine, gear or compressor. The method includes providing a lubricant composition that contains a base oil of lubricating viscosity and from about 0.05 to about 5.0 wt. % based on a total weight of the lubricant composition of a dialkylaminoalkanol of the formulaR1(R2)NCH2CH(R3)R4 
wherein R1 is an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group containing from 8 to 50 carbon atoms; R2 is an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms; R3 is selected from the group consisting of H and OH; and R4 is selected from the group consisting of H, an alkyl group containing from 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and CH2OH, provided that at least one of R3 and R4 contains a hydroxyl group and provided that when R1 is a hydroxyalkyl group, R3 is OH and R4 is CH2OH. The engine, transmission, turbine, gear or compressor is operated on the lubricant composition, whereby friction or wear in the engine, transmission, turbine, gear or compressor is reduced compared to friction or wear in the engine, transmission, turbine, gear or compressor operated with a conventional friction modifier.
An advantage of the compositions and methods described herein is that the additive for the fuel or lubricant may not only improve the friction and wear properties of the fuel or lubricant composition, but the additive may also be effective to improve fuel economy of an engine operated on the fuel or lubricant.
In a further embodiment, the fuel composition contains from about 10 to about 750 ppm by weight, such as from 20 to about 500 ppm by weight, or from 30 to about 250 ppm by weight of the reaction product based on a total weight of the fuel composition.
In another embodiment, an oil of lubricating viscosity contains from 0.05 to 5.0 wt. %, such as from 0.1 to 2.0 wt. %, or 0.15 to 0.5 wt. % of reaction product based on the total weight of the oil composition.
Additional embodiments and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the detailed description which follows, and/or can be learned by practice of the disclosure. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure, as claimed.